Proficiency Gaps

Kids in poverty lag behind

Our school districts are making steady progress challenging the achievement gap. By 4th grade, only 69 percent of kids in poverty are proficient in reading, compared to 91 percent of students from higher income households. That's a six point gain since 2010, but we still have a long way to go. Free and reduced-price lunch (FRL) is the most commonly used indicator of student poverty in schools.

Reading Proficiency of 4th Grade Students in the Learning Community: FRL Compared to Non-FRL

Source: Nebraska Dept. of Education State of the Schools report, 2014-2015

2 out of 5 students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch don't read at a basic level

Poverty Hurts High School Graduates

Overall scores have improved for 11th graders, but the gap between students in poverty and higher income students grows wider. Only 47 percent of students from poverty are on track to graduate with solid reading and math skills. Increasing poverty in the Omaha metro area means a real loss of human potential that hurts our future workforce.

What happens to kids between 4th and 11th grades? Children from lower income homes who are behind their peers tend to fall further behind each year. By 11th grade, the proficiency gap is 36 percent.